The Dark Reign of the Three
by JediMasterQuill
Summary: In the space of a single Gathering, three cats have done the impossible–-they have taken over the Clans. Will Dovewing be able to push her love aside and help Lionblaze and Jayfeather do what is right or will she succumb to the power of darkness? Renamed!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One. **

The moon was shining brightly over the forest. A cool autumn chill bit the air and ruffled the fur of the patrol of cats that crossed the moors on their way to the island. It was a small group, and unusually so. But Bramblestar had decided to leave more cats behind at the camp, just in case the rogues came back. A few moons ago, the ThunderClan camp had been attacked by a group of rogues. No cat knew who they were, and what they wanted. Either way, their attack had resulted in several deaths- Sandstorm and Bumblestripe were no longer with them. It was strange, and unnerving, and Firestar lost his last life soon after the attack. Most cats thought that the loss of Sandstorm had caused the legendary leader to give up on life. It was a tumultuous time for ThunderClan, and the cats going to the Gathering were filled with suspicion, grief, and even fear.

But Dovewings's thoughts were not on the troubles of the Clan. As she crossed the fallen tree that led to the island, her thoughts were on how to tell Tigerheart...

_What will he say?_ She thought. _Will he be surprised? Happy? But what if he's not? What if he-_

"Hello, Dovewing, are you home?"

The fluffy grey shecat blinked, and saw Jayfeather standing in front of her with a smug expression on his face.

"Oh, hi, Jayfeather, I didn't see you there," she mewed, a little uneasy at the expression on the medicine cat's face. Had he been reading her thoughts?

"Hmm, 'course you didn't." he mewed back, leaning towards her. "Looking for _someone_?" he whispered.

Dovewing felt her fur grow hot in spite of herself. Jayfeather was the only cat who knew that she and Tigerheart met every half and quarter moon, and he never missed a chance to tease her. When he had found out, at first Dovewing feared that he would tell. But then, _she_ found out by listening to _some_ cat's conversations that Cinderheart's kits were not Lionblaze's-they were Jayfeather's. So now they both kept each other's secret, and they both knew that if they told the other's secret, _thei_r secret would be out in a millisecond. The peace was held by mutual destruction.

"No, and would you just leave me alone? You know what I know about you..."

Jayfeather sighed, closing his blind eyes in mock exasperation. "I miss the days when you were this honest apprentice who would rather die than go against the rules. You would never have thought of blackmailing me. Well, go on, then. But you won't be able to find him; ShadowClan hasn't arrived yet. I think."

And with that he stalked away, towards the other medicine cats. Dovewing breathed out in relief. What if someone had heard them? Then everything would be a complete disaster...

"Dovewing!"

Dovewing turned around and saw, to her horror, a dark tabby leaping off of the log and hurdling towards her. His amber eyes were bright with happiness, but Dovewing's leaf-green ones were dark with fear.

_Oh no..._

She turned around, and tried to walk into the flood of cats as if no one had ever called her name, and no one was running at her as if their life depended on it...maybe he would take the hint and pretend as if he made a mistake and was actually looking for someone else...but no, he had to come running up to her.

"Dovewing!" Tigerheart murmured, nudging her ear affectionately. Dovewing cringed, not wanting to flinch away and look at him as if he were insane but at the same time wanting to. She looked around. Had anyone seen...?No, but wait...Mouse whisker was looking at her with the most shocked and saddened expression on his face. His dark green eyes were wide, and he nodded once, and walked away, his tail and ears drooping sadly. She had thought that they were just friends, but she guessed that she was a little more than that to Mousewhisker. Poor cat, she wished she had been able to tell him, or at least hint that she was already with someone else...he looked so crushed!

"Tigerheart!" she hissed, wheeling around to face him. "Have you gone mad? We're at the _gathering!"_

"So?" he whispered back, and grinned at Dovewing's horrified expression. "Look, it'll all make sense during the gathering. Now I've got to get up to the high-tree-"

"What in StarClan for?"

He looked around, as if to make sure that they were out of hearing range of everyone else (which they weren't).

"A little after the last gathering, Rowenclaw was found _dead_ by the twoleg's nest on our territory. We think that the kittypets who lived there killed him, but anyway, _I've_ been made the new _deputy!_ Isn't it awesome!"

Dovewing stared open mouthed at him, feeling a wave of pride wash over her.

"Tigerheart, this is great!" she squeaked.

He nodded, seeming pleased by her reaction. "Yes, isn't it? Now, during the gathering, you need to keep calm. There might be some...trouble, but you'll be safe. Just head over to the high-tree and I'll find you."

Before she had a chance to ask what this 'trouble' was, he dashed away. Her stomach clenched with unease. This was getting...strange. She looked around, and saw Ivypool chatting with some RiverClanners. She started to go and join her sister, but the gathering began.

"Nothing much as occurred in WindClan," yowled Onestar from his branch on the tree. He was so high up that Dovewing had to crane her neck to see him. "The prey is running well, and our Clan is healthy. That is all."

It was unlike Onestar to leave out a veiled threat in his message, but it was nice to have a change. Dovewing could see Tigerheart at the base of the tree. She could hear him saying something to Ashfoot, but she couldn't quite make most of it out...

"RiverClan is doing well this leaf-fall," Mistystar said. "One of our queens, Petalfur, has given birth to three kits, Streamkit, Poolkit, and Ripplekit."

The cats in the clearing murmured their congratulations, and Dovewing was filled with a bittersweet feeling. It was wonderful that her friend's kits had finally been born, but the memory of Rippleclaw was still fresh in her mind, bringing back sad memories. She wondered what the kits looked like. Then, her eyes widened as she remembered. She had forgotten to tell Tigerheart her news!

_Maybe there'll be some time after it's over,_ she thought to herself as she looked back up at Mistystar. The blue grey shecat was about to speak again.

"But, our patrols have found a nest of foxes on our territory. We were able to chase them out, but I'm afraid they escaped into ShadowClan territory." she looked apologetically at Blackstar, who lurked in the shadows of the trees. His gold eyes blinked in acceptance.

Bramblestar stood forwards, and mewed, "ThunderClan is doing fine, despite the recent losses that we have suffered. Our claws are still sharp, and our fangs are still ready. We have two new warriors, Cherryfrost and Molestep."

Everyone in the clearing chanted the new warrior's names,

"Cherryfrost! Molestep!" cheered Dovewing, glancing over at the two cats in question and grinning at them. Molestep ducked his brown and cream head, embarrassed, but Cherryfrost grinned back and nodded her thanks.

After the cheering has died down, Bramblestar started to speak again. "We have also detected some cat-scents along the ShadowClan side of our borders, near the old twoleg place. We haven't been able to recognize them, but we know that one of them is definitely a ShadowClan cat. Blackstar, if you continue to let one of your warriors trespass, we will have to take action."

Dovewing visibly cringed. _She_ knew who those cats were...

Blackstar stood forwards, and rasped, "None of our warriors have been trespassing and you know it, Bramblestar. We will-" he broke off in a fit of coughing. Dovewing saw Jayfeather wince, as if he knew what might be ailing the ShadowClan leader. "We will fight you to the death if any of you set paw in our territory, as you have threatened." he stepped out of the shadows, and Dovewing gasped. He looked so...frail. Almost all of his ribs were visible, and his fur was dull and matted. Dovewing could hear his breathing, it was unsteady and wheezing.

"Our deputy, Rowenclaw, has died."

Gasps of shock greeted his blunt announcement. Rowenclaw, even if he _was_ a bit odd, had been respected throughout the Clans.

"And Flametail, our medicine cat, has received a message from StarClan, telling me to make Tigerheart deputy, which I have."

He paused to cough and let everyone chant Tigerheart's name.

Dovewing cheered even louder than she had for Cherryfrost and Molestep, but on the inside she was filled with doubt. _Flametail_ had received a message, and not his mentor Littlecloud? How odd, seeing that he was less experienced _and_ that he was Tigerheart's brother...

"We also have detected-" said Blackstar, but suddenly, he coughed again, and seemed to have fainted. As the crowd beneath him gasped, he fell from the tree and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"Blackstar!" screeched someone at the front of the group. Dovewing casted her senses out and saw that Blackstar was slumped on the ground. He did not move. He was not breathing.

As Littlecloud ran forwards to see what had happened, Dovewing was startled by a loud caterwauling sound.

She, along with everyone else in the clearing, turned towards the sound and saw a mass of rogues pour out of the bushes and towards the cats in the clearing.

_They're back! _was her horrorstruck thought. Then, she remembered Tigerheart's warning. _No, Tigerheart, you didn't..._

Before she could stop herself, she raced around the now fighting cats towards the high-tree. She could see Tigerheart at its base, and she sped towards him. Suddenly, a weight landed on her back and she fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. She twisted around and dug her claws into the large tortoiseshell cat who was pinning her down.

"Hello," he whispered, as he dodged her blow and got a firmer grip on her shoulders. "I've heard quite a lot about you."

"Get off!" Dovewing snarled, cuffing his tufted ears.

"There's no use in fighting." he growled in return, and grabbed the scruff of her neck with his teeth. As she shrieked in protest, he pulled her to the sidelines of the battle.

"Help!" she yowled, thrashing in an attempt to escape, but no one heard her. She had hoped that her former mentor Lionblaze would be able to see her, but he was too busy defending Icecloud, who was on the ground, bleeding heavily.

The cat dropped her in a swath of ferns, and she swiped at him with unsheathed claws. He dodged her attack again, and blocked the way back to the battle.

"There you are!" called out a familiar voice, and Dovewing's heart leapt. Tigerheart came running out of the battle towards her. He stopped and nodded at the strange cat. "Thanks, Sol. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to find me."

"It was just a part of our agreement, nothing else." Sol said. Dovewing was now completely in shock.

"Tigerheart...?" she mewed in a quavering voice. She looked up at him with wide green eyes, disbelieving.

"Shh," he said. "We've got to stay here until the battle has been won. You'll be safe, I promise."

Dovewing opened her mouth to say something, but she forgot what it was. She settled down in the ferns, and listened to the battle that raged right in front of her. The powdery-grey shecat was worried, especially for her friends. She caught a glimpse of Lionblaze again; he was fighting alongside Dustpelt and Ferncloud, who was trying to drag Icecloud to the sidelines where she wouldn't get hurt. Jayfeather was by the high-tree, and was acting quite oddly. He seemed to be fighting, but there was no one near him. He slashed out with a paw, but then grimaced, as if he had been hit. A trail of blood curled its way around his flank, and Dovewing's eyes widened. She saw Bramblestar and Cloudtail—the deputy—fighting with several cats at once. She saw some others, and they all seemed to be tiring quickly. She knew that the battle was not going well for the Clans, and soon, it seemed to have ended.

Tigerheart stood up, and began to pad out into the clearing. He stopped as soon as he realized that Dovewing was not following.

"Come on," he mewed.

Dovewing shook her head. She did not want to go with Tigerheart in front of everyone, safe and unharmed. Tigerheart's eyes narrowed slightly, but he sighed and murmured to Sol, "Keep an eye on her. Please?"

As he walked away, Dovewing pricked her ears. She could hear someone (though no one was there) saying something, very quietly...

"...well done...worked out wonderfully...better than Hawkfrost's...go and make your announcement...brush the moss off your fur, for Tigerstar's sake! ...don't embarrass him..."

_Tigerstar? Hawkfrost? _She remembered the nursery tales about them, and what Jayfeather and Lionblaze had told her, that they manipulated cats to get their own goals accomplished, and how they were beginning to suspect that they were planning to take over the forest again. Then, it hit her. _Tigerheart is under their influence...this is why he's been acting so oddly!_

She heard another voice, Tigerheart's, ring out in the clearing. His voice was changed, it was harder and colder, and had this air of authority that she had never heard before. It turned her blood to ice.

"The rest of you who are still fighting would do well to stop immediately. Resistance to the new reign of the Clans is futile and is quite fatal."


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n;;Sorry it took so long, but here's the next chapter! And thanks to .Amberleaf. for reviewing-it was really appriciated. ^_^**

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Jayfeather struggled beneath the grasp of Tigerstar. He clawed at the ghost's throat, but no blood came.

_Now this just isn't fair!_ He thought as he pummeled his hind-legs at Tigerstar's stomach in an effort to unpin himself. _Then again, it was already unfair from the moment he decided to pick on a blind medicine cat. _He desperately wished that Honeyfern, or some other StarClan warrior who could actually _see_ Tigerstar would come and help him. It was ironic, in a way. He was in the middle of a battle that he couldn't see and yet was fighting his own battle with an opponent that no one else could even scent. So who really is the blind one? The blind cat or the sighted cats? He didn't really have much time to ponder over the situation—he would reflect later. But now he just needed to get this overweight cat off him…

Jayfeather yowled in triumph as he managed to fling Tigerstar off of him. He saw him land a few paces away in the blackness. He wondered briefly why he could see Tigerstar, but not his surroundings. Why only briefly? Because Tigerstar's claws came at his face at what seemed to be one hundred miles an hour. He was knocked to the ground, and tasted blood in his mouth.

"Give up," the dark tabby hissed mockingly at him.

"Never," growled the grey tabby, aware of how clichéd it sounded. He staggered to his paws, and was knocked back down again. Jayfeather caught a whiff of Cherryfrost's scent, and then another of some cat he didn't know. She must have accidentally pushed him down in the heat of battle. He could hear them fighting and clawing and ripping and tearing…he shuddered.

_I had better have a good supply of cobwebs in my den…_

"The rest of you who are still fighting would do well to stop immediately. Resistance to the new reign of the Clans is futile and is quite fatal." yowled a voice. It wasn't really recognizable, but Jayfeather thought that it was Tigerheart's. Wait…_Tigerheart's? _But it was too harsh and forbidding…not at all like the fun-loving cat he had spoken to.

"Why is Tigerheart—" he began to think out loud, but Tigerstar's paw slammed down on his mouth.

"Silence!" he hissed. Jayfeather glared at Tigerstar with bright blue eyes, and Tigerstar glared back.

"Everyone here is fortunate to witness the birth of a new age," said another voice, a voice that sent chills down Jayfeather's spine. _Breezepelt._ Breezepelt was the one who had attempted to murder Jayfeather on several occasions.

"Fortunate? How the foxdung are we fortunate?" protested another voice—it was Purdy, ThunderClan's ancient elder. "I nearly had my fur ripped off!"

There was silence, and then Jayfeather heard sounds of a scuffle, a shriek, and then silence again.

"Are there any others who would like to speak out against us?"

Jayfeather's blood turned to ice.

_Oh no, Purdy…_

"No one? Good. If anyone didn't notice, there is a new leader in the forest."

"Or rather," said Ivypool. "_Several_ new leaders."

"Surprised?" muttered Tigerstar to Jayfeather.

"Not really…" he hissed back. It was the truth. He had long suspected Ivypool of being under the influence of Tigerstar for a while, ever since she came up with all of those moves that she 'made up'. It was the same thing Lionblaze had said when he was an apprentice, and look at what had happened!

"That is right," it was Tigerheart again. "And there are new Clans. The days of ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan are long gone. It is now the dawn of TigerClan!" He paused, and Jayfeather could sense his irritation. "What do we do to show our appreciation for something…?" he hinted, and the clearing erupted in cheers. Jayfeather joined in, fearing that he would follow Purdy if he didn't.

"And IvyClan!" screeched Ivypool, and again the clearing cheered.

"And the noble BreezeClan!" called Breezepelt. _Noble, my foot._ Jayfeather thought glumly, wondering what was going to happen next. He glanced over at Tigerstar, the only cat he could see.

"Could you tell me what the moon looks like?" he asked. Maybe the clouds were covering it…

"Nope." Said Tigerstar, grinning smugly, and Jayfeather scowled.

"The lot of you will be sorted into these three Clans," shouted Tigerheart, putting an end to the cheering. "But for now, you will stay here."

A sudden thought occurred to Jayfeather. _What about the camp? What about Cinderheart?_ He knew that he wouldn't be able to stand a night without hearing her, or their kits…

"What about our camps?" he yowled out impulsively. "They'll notice that we haven't come back, and—"

"—Soon, Jayfeather, you will learn that it will not do you well to speak out." Hissed Breezepelt. "And you will also learn that the camps have been infiltrated while you were gone. Now, if any of you try to escape and leave this island, prepare to have you and your family killed by our army."

Jayfeather's heart sunk to his stomach. What if Cinderheart had disagreed with them, like Purdy had? What if she fought to protect the camp, the Clan, her kits, herself, and got killed? What if his kits were harmed? What if one of them _died_? He didn't know how he would live if that happened. He already missed them—Hollykit, Honeykit, Juniperkit, and Tansykit. Even though everyone thought that they were Lionblaze's kits, Jayfeather knew that if he stepped out of line they would _all_ get killed, kits and Cinderheart included.

"Come with me," hissed Tigerstar, and he poked Jayfeather with one long claw. Obediently, Jayfeather stood up and followed the dark tabby. The cats in the clearing were either too tired or wounded or confused to notice that he passed them, and they let him pass.

Soon, Jayfeather felt the soft ground of the surrounding forest under his paws, and could hear the crickets chirping quietly. He heard the noise of several sets of paws coming towards him, and Tigerstar vanished, leaving Jayfeather alone in his own dark world.

"Ah, there he is, the noble valiant _blind_ Jayfeather," he heard Breezepelt sneer. "You can see his mind racing, thinking of _marvelous_ and _ingenious _ways to overthrow us. Isn't he just like Firestar? Except without the mild temperament?"

Ivypool giggled, and mewed, "Oh, you're _so_ mean, Breezepelt!"

Jayfeather's eye twitched. Ivypool was even more annoying than Honeyfern had been.

"And you are _so_—wait a minute, what is goodie-two-paws _Dovewing_ doing over here?" said Breezepelt, and Jayfeather blinked. This had been a weird night to begin with, but now it was getting even weirder. "Sol, why do you have that shecat over here? She belongs in the clearing, with the rest of them."

Jayfeather took a double take. _Sol?_ But sure enough, the cat that walked up the them smelled and sounded like Sol. He also had that impenetrable mind, too, so Jayfeather had to wait to find out why he was here.

"According to Tigerheart, she does not belong in the clearing. And is this Jayfeather? Why yes, it seems so. Greetings." Sol noted, unfazed.

"According to Tigerheart?" parroted Ivypool incredulously. "Dovewing, come over here."

Jayfeather heard the rush of ferns and sensed Dovewing's gentle presence. She padded up to him, standing so close that their fur brushed. He could tell that she was shaking. That wasn't good for a cat in her condition…

"Dovewing," mewed Breezepelt. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same," Dovewing sniffed, and Jayfeather had to admire her nerve. He could smell the fear scent that was practically rolling off of her pelt. He also sensed her anxiety, unease, and even a bit of hurt. It made sense, in a way. He would probably feel very hurt indeed if Cinderheart suddenly went evil and successfully took over the forest.

"Answer the question!" snarled Ivypool. Jayfeather heard her claws scraping on the ground.

"Ivypool, leave her alone!"

It was Tigerheart, and his voice was back to normal. He walked over to Dovewing and stood protectively by her side.

Jayfeather sensed Breezepelt's confusion; he was probably wondering why on earth his partner in crime was standing up for some random ThunderClanner. But Ivypool understood right away.

"You…you and Dovewing…!" she gasped.

"Yes." Said Tigerheart somewhat proudly. "Me and Dovewing."

Breezepelt began to crack up. Jayfeather felt the ground shake just a little bit as his half-brother fell on the floor, rolling with laughter.

"Tigerheart!" he howled, still laughing. "Tigerheart, oh wow, you have bad taste! Of all the she cats in the Clans, you choose the most annoying, goodie-goodie, perfectly perfect cat! Oh, wait 'til Tigerstar hears about this!"

"Why wait, when he can hear about it now?" said Tigerstar, coming back into Jayfeather's world. Along with him were Hawkfrost, and a dark silver and black tabby Jayfeather didn't recognize. Apparently though, everyone else could see them too because he heard Sol's intake of breath and felt Dovewing stiffen. "And yes, dear Dovewing, you are not mad. So stop blinking like that, it's irritating."

"Tigerstar" rasped Ivypool, seeming to have not gotten over her shock yet. "What do you wish of us? Should we head to the camp with the prisoner? Will we get our leader names soon?"

"Yes, tonight we'll hold the ceremony. And I will accompany you there, to the camp. Sol, you are welcome to come or to go to your own den." Said Tigerstar, nodding in Sol's direction. "Hawkfrost, Darkstripe, lead the prisoner. He may be blind, but he can run."

And so, they began their walk. Hawkfrost and Darkstripe—the silver and black tabby—walked on either of Jayfeather's sides, and he could hear Dovewing and Tigerheart walking in front of him. There was no escape.

They made their way across a marsh, and soon Jayfeather felt the springy texture of the pine needles beneath his paws. He assumed that they were in ShadowClan territory, but he wasn't quite sure. He was pushed through some ferns, and soon felt dirt beneath his paws again. He could feel some warmth on his pelt, and so he knew that it was dawn. He could sense cats in the clearing, but he didn't really recognize them. They were probably some of the rogues. _How did they find them all, anyway?_ he thought.

He gaped his jaws open slightly, scenting the air. What he found shocked him.

"_Hollyleaf?" _he croaked. She was there, his sister was truly there, sleeping next to a few other cats...he shoved Hawkfrost and Darkstripe aside and raced towards her, not caring if he tripped and fell. He heard Breezepelt yowl something, but he didn't hear it.

He crouched by her side, and he heard her roll over in her sleep.

"...Sol...?" she mewed sleepily.

"Hollyleaf," whispered Jayfeather. "It's me..."

Hollyleaf yawned, and then Jayfeather felt her stare.

"Jayfeather?"

Jayfeather nodded. He felt beams of happiness radiating from her, so strong that he was nearly knocked over. Suddenly, he felt claws hook into his back and was (painfully) pulled away.

"Breezepelt, let him go!" Hollyleaf yowled, so loudly that the cats who were sleeping next to her started to wake.

"He's the prisoner, Hollyleaf," Breezepelt spat back. "We can't just have him running loose in the camp. If you want to talk to him, do so later."

"And why is he a prisoner?" retorted Hollyleaf, storming up to Breezepelt. "He should be in the ruling caste-he's my brother, after all!"

"First of all, Hollyleaf, he would never join us willingly. You know him. He's like Firestar, selfless and too good to consider any sort of power. Second of all, Tigerstar needs him for something, and don't ask me, I don't know, but he is needed. This is why he has to stay in the prisoner's den. And if you have any issues with that, you can speak with my mentor yourself."

Jayfeather heard Hollyleaf's claws scrape the ground.

"Fine." she hissed, and stalked away.

"Gerroff' me..." muttered Jayfeather, shrugging Breezepelt's claws out of his pelt. "I can walk by myself, you know."

"This way." Breezepelt pushed him, and then led him to a den. Jayfeather's pelt snagged on some of the brambles, but Breezepelt shoved him through the narrow entrance. It was a round den, and there wasn't any moss or any sort of bedding on the floor, only hard dirt. Sighing, Jayfeather settled down along the side, wishing to fall asleep and find that this was all just an awful dream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again, Amberleaf, for reviewing! ^_^**

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It had been a cold night in the clearing, and Lionblaze had been frantic looking for Jayfeather and Dovewing. They were nowhere to be seen, and the only hint that he had gotten was from Mousewhisker, who had seen Dovewing fighting a large tortoiseshell. He noticed that the normally cheerful cat was unusually depressed, but that was to be expected. Who wouldn't be depressed if a trio of evil cats randomly took over the forest?

Soon, Lionblaze assumed that Jayfeather had managed to get Dovewing safely away and was probably back at camp, telling everyone what had happened. He had curled up next to Icecloud, who was still bleeding and was feeling a little faint. Throughout the night, though, all his thoughts were on Cinderheart, and their kits. They would be okay, he knew, but was still worried.

In the morning, he was roused by the sound of a cat yowling.

"Stand and honor Ivystar, Breezestar, and Tigerstar the second."

Lionblaze looked up sleepily. _Ivystar? What?_

Then, he saw them. The three cats who had stood on the uppermost branches of the high tree the other night. Ivypool-no, Ivy_star-_ was standing close to Breezestar, a haughty expression on her silver and white face. Tigerstar the second (_such a long title_, Lionblaze thought. _I'll call him Tigerheart instead.) _was standing a pace ahead of the two, and all three had a group of dangerous looking cats surrounding them. He remembered what had happened to Purdy the other night, stood hastily, and nudged Icecloud to her paws.

"Now what do they want?" she groaned, limping a little as she slunk behind Lionblaze.

"I guess they want to sort us into their made-up Clans, like they said they would the other night," he said. He watched carefully as the trio stepped into the crowd. He saw Breezestar motion to one of the rogues, and whisper something in his ear. The rogue nodded, and called a few other rogues to him. Then, Ivystar looked through the crowd, seeking someone. Her gaze fell on Mousewhisker, and she nodded to him, as if telling him to come forwards.

Mousewhisker's eyes widened and Lionblaze tensed, in case Ivystar planned to kill him as an example of some sort. Her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously when Mousewhisker hesitated, and she murmured something to the rogue. The rogue stalked over to where Mousewhisker was standing, and pushed him towards Ivystar. He fell to the floor, and remained there, shivering, in a crouch at Ivystar's paws.

She leaned down, and pressed her muzzle to the top of his head.

"I name you, Mousewhisker of IvyClan!" she yowled, and on que, everyone cheered. The rogue pushed him to his paws and nudged him towards one side of the clearing, where a group of rogues stood.

Lionblaze watched the other two leaders do the same with other cats. He noticed that they seemed to split families up, and a few cats (such as Dawnpelt and Heathertail) were apparently inducted into either the 'elite' caste or 'ruling' caste, if they were related to one of the leaders. The medicine cats were placed in their own group, and the leaders of the original Clans were surrounded by rogues.

Soon, there were only a few cats left. He was one of them. To his surprise, _Breezestar_, of all cats, sauntered up to him.

"You are now Lionblaze of BreezeClan," he yowled, and sneered evilly at Lionblaze. On command, a rogue came and led Lionblaze to the side of the clearing where the cats that Breezestar had culled stood. He stepped over to the first ThunderClanner he saw-Poppyfrost. The tortoiseshell's ice blue eyes were wide with fear.

"Have you seen Cherryfrost? Or Molestep?" she mewed.

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."

"Wait, Cherryfrost's a ginger shecat, right?" said a cat to Poppyfrost's left. "The one who had her naming ceremony just a little while ago?"

"Yes!" said Poppyfrost, her eyes brightening.

"She's over there, in TigerClan," the cat meowed, pointing her tail towards the group of cats who were across the clearing. Sure enough, Cherryfrost was over there, seeming to be in a heated argument with one of the rogues.

"Oh, she's going to get herself killed!" said Poppyfrost, her voice hoarse. Lionblaze unsheathed his claws. Cinderheart's niece was _not_ going to get killed if he had anything to do with it. He should do something before he lost the nerve...but what could he do? The only thing that he was really good at was fighting, and the rogues outnumbered the Clancats two to one. It would be foolhardy to even try. What would Jayfeather do?

_Probably probe Breezestar's mind..._he thought, wishing that he had the same power as Jayfeather. It would be so easy, and would probably have saved him a lot of trouble, especially when talking with Cinderheart. Sometimes it felt as if she was really distant, like her thoughts were on someone else.

"Follow us," mewed one of the rogues, taking Lionblaze out of his thoughts. "Do not try to escape. You will secure the doom of your 3family and we will hunt you down and kill you."

A patrol of rogues surrounded the group, forcing everyone to walk in a single file line. Lionblaze was the last one to exit the clearing. A loud screech brought him to a halt, and he whipped his head around in time to see Ivystar standing over Mistystar, who was on the ground, bleeding heavily. Bramblestar was held back by a few rogues, shouting obscenities, and Onestar just watched numbly, as if he had resigned to die quietly.

"Turn 'round!" snarled one of the rogues, cuffing Lionblaze's head with a massive paw. Lionblaze staggered on, shaking the stars from his vision. They crossed the moors, and Lionblaze realized that they were headed for the WindClan camp. Or what once _was_ the WindClan camp.

As they padded in, Lionblaze looked around in horror. There were rogues everywhere, and corpses littered the ground like fall leaves. The ginger tabby could see a few survivors peeking out from the nursery, their eyes wide and frightened.

_Oh…StarClan…is the _ThunderClan_ camp like this? _

Breezestar leapt ahead of the group and onto a large boulder. The dark tom seemed oblivious to the carnage that surrounded him; his gold eyes were cold.

"All cats who are old enough to catch prey must come into the clearing for a Clan meeting," he called, lashing his tail impatiently.

Slowly, the remnants of WindClan and the prisoners slunk forwards, settling in a huddled group behind the rogues, who were already sitting there, looking up at Breezestar intently. Lionblaze stepped a few paces towards Poppyfrost, seeing that she was shaking violently. As he pressed closer to her, he wished Jayfeather was there so he could ask him about Poppyfrost. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were thinner than a blade of grass. Her breath came in short gasps. Something was obviously wrong. But before he could talk to her, Breezestar yowled, "You all are to be grateful."

"What for?" mewed one of the rogues, and when Breezestar only continued on, Lionblaze knew that he had asked the rogue to speak out.

"I have saved you all from living in a tangled web of lies," Breezestar hissed, his eyes flashing with vehemence. "I have, with the help of the noble Tigerstar the second and the beautiful, graceful Ivystar, created a new Warrior Code, by which we can all live together in harmony and peace. We will no longer have to fight over borders and prey, living in fear of the next raid. We will never have to limit our friendships-and relationships-to our Clan alone. Wars will never be fought over two cat's folly, and never will their kits have to live in fear of someone finding out their heritage."

Surprisingly, his nemesis' words struck a chord in Lionblaze's heart. It wasn't fair for their ancestor's deeds to affect the new generation. It really wasn't. The lies that he had been born in, raised in, had cost him his mentor, his parents, and his sister. Grudgingly, he had to admit that there was some truth in Breezestar's words.

"This is the dawn of a new age," continued Breezestar, "And you all are lucky to be able to live in it. And to live in this new age, you must live by its laws. You all will be in your own caste, in order to maintain order. There is the ruling caste, the elite caste, and the middling caste. Most of you will be in the middling caste, and so there are several sub-castes—the high caste, the middle caste, and the low caste. Your caste will be determined by your loyalty to the ruling caste. But this is of little consequence."

"Then why did you tell us?" yowled a cat. Lionblaze looked around, and saw a familiar pale brown shecat. Her azure eyes flashed as she looked imperiously up at Breezestar. "What need was there?"

_Heathertail. _

He had once loved—or thought he loved—the slim shecat, and even after they split apart, he still held a shard of respect for the defiant streak that ran in her. He had thought that she had chosen to be mates with Breezestar, but apparently he had been mistaken. At the moment he feared for her, in case Breezestar set the rogues on her. But there was never a need for his concern, for Breezestar merely nodded and said, "If we start in anarchy, we will end in anarchy. We needed to know the place that we have in life, in order to live successfully. This is one of the flaws with the warrior code—there were the leaders, the medicine cats, the elders, and the warriors. There was nothing else, and this is what led to the confusion that ultimately caused chaos."

This didn't really make sense to Lionblaze—what did having a looser hierarchy have to do with anything? But it seemed to reassure Poppyfrost, who had stopped shaking.

"Either way, there are new tenants to the warrior's code. One, your leader's word is law. Two, borders are not to be encroached unless you gain permission from the other Clan. Three, you are forbidden to murder a Clancat, whether they be from TigerClan or IvyClan. The punishment for murder is death. Four, mates may be taken from other Clans or castes, but the kits must be raised in their mother's Clan or rank. Five, loyalty to the Clan first, to the family second, and to the individual third. Six…"

As Breezestar went on and on, Lionblaze looked around the clearing, to see who else was there. He saw a bunch of WindClanners, a few RiverClanners, several ThunderClanners, and one ShadowClan cat—Crowfrost. Of the ThunderClan cats he saw Squirrelflight, Berrynose, Thornclaw, Blossomfall, and Foxleap. So including himself and Poppyfrost that made seven ThunderClan cats. And he saw Ashfoot in the crowd, and Nightcloud, but the rest he didn't recognize.

So that's what he had to work with. A pawful of ThunderClanners, and a bunch of other cats who probably wouldn't even listen to him. How was he going to escape like this? Maybe he should just deal with it for now, and make his move later, or—

"That is all. Any questions?"

His half brother's voice made Lionblaze blink and come back to reality.

"No? Good. My senior deputy, Rook, will be organizing patrols. You all know which caste you are in, so this shouldn't be much of a problem."

With that, the dark tom leapt down from the boulder, leaving Lionblaze in total confusion.

_Great. Now what?_ He thought ruefully as he watched everyone in the clearing scramble to apparently random areas of the camp. He really should have been paying attention. Now he was probably going to get beaten up, or killed, or tortured, or something else horrible…

"Oi! Lionblaze!"

Lionblaze jerked as someone called his name. He didn't recognize the speaker, and he still didn't even when he saw him. The cat was a large, longhaired tom with faint tabby stripes all along his back. He had a white paw and chest, and his ears were riddled with scars. The tom nodded at Lionblaze, as if telling him to come forwards.

The gold tom swiftly wound his way through the mass of cats towards the cat. He paused in front of him, waiting for a response.

"Didn't you listen?" the cat snarled. "You're in my patrol."

"Oh sorry…" mewed Lionblaze, getting a little annoyed. "I had no idea that you were…er…what's your name again?"

"It's Rook, and I think that Breezestar was right when he told me that you were just dumb muscle. Now come on, we have everyone and we have to finish setting the borders by sun-high."

As Rook turned away with a flourish of his tail, Lionblaze barely suppressed a snarl. This cat was getting on his nerves… but he had to follow him, unless he wanted to get hurt. Or someone else harmed. It was all the same to him.

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**Ack...this chapter took so long to write. I don't really like writing in Lionblaze's perspective...I'm not sure why, but it's a pain. :P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ah, sorry for the wait. Even though I rather like the POV for this chapter, it just took so dang long! D: Thanks so much Amberleaf, 'The Twitcherz', Poisonpaw, and Lakestorm for reviewing! :D Even if I don't really...reply to reviews that often, I really appreciate them. ^_^

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It was…incredible. Just to see him again, to know that he still lived…of course, she knew all along that she would see him, but it was more than that. To see your favorite brother after seemingly countless seasons was just wonderful. She had always missed him, always. But never was the loss so evident until this day.

Hollyleaf was glad that Tigerstar the second—or Tigerheart, as she still called him (what can she say? Old habits die hard) — let her and Sol take the day off so she could reconnect with Jayfeather. She had been able to ask him questions on the going on of ThunderClan, and for a while forgot all the lies that she had once been raised in. Poppyfrost had taken Berrynose for a mate, and their two kits, Cherryfrost and Molestep, had their naming ceremony only a few days ago! Firestar had died (Hollyleaf was sad to hear that he had passed) but new life was thriving. She had been almost stunned to find out that Cinderheart—her best friend!—was raising Jayfeather's kits. How amazing! She had been so shocked and thrilled and worried (only for a while, until she remembered that they lived beneath a new ruling now) when he told her! But…there was something that he _didn't_ tell her, but she didn't care. For now.

And he wasn't the only one to have news, either. Hollyleaf had relished the look on Jayfeather's face when she introduced him to _her_ four kits. Vixen, Shyamal, Bluejay, and Rozabella had all been ecstatic to meet one of the uncles that Hollyleaf had spoken about so fondly, and Jayfeather seemed to feel the same. Everything was wonderful…Sol was right in delaying their return to the Clans for so long—they just had to wait for the right series of events to take place in order to make it easier.

At that moment, stirring the elegant shecat out of her reminiscences, a cat caterwauled loudly at the camp entrance. Hollyleaf looked up, and saw Bridget, one of the rogues. She was of the messenger rank, and obviously had an announcement.

Standing up, she glanced around the clearing. Everyone was getting up, and she glimpsed the grey form of that Dovewing flitting through the trees from behind the leader's den. She saw Tigerheart follow her in haste, ignoring Bridget. Hollyleaf got the sense that the two of them had an argument…but it was none of her business.

"What are you thinking about?" whispered a soft voice in her ear. She jumped, and saw Sol.

"Nothing," she said, hissing a little in spite of herself. Sol had been her utmost companion for ages, and how he still managed to sneak up on her like that was beyond Hollyleaf.

"Nothing, hm?" Sol smirked slightly. Hollyleaf sighed and flicked a tufted ear with her long tail. The tortoiseshell ignored the abuse—he had been suffering from it as long as she had been suffering from his little mind games and stalking. "Do you know what Bridget is yowling about?"

"No, I thought that you might know."

"Oh. Pity, I haven't been able to _influence_ the others, as I've been a tad preoccupied. Had I not been I would have known before the little cat came running into the camp."

"Serves you right for volunteering for this job. And besides, aren't vassals supposed to be all 'submissive' and such to their masters? I think _mesmerizing_ Tigerheart's cats wouldn't count as being submissive."

"I am _not_ a common vassal." Huffed Sol, and Hollyleaf could see that he was irritated. She grinned. Sol could be difficult to vex, but she knew him well enough. "Vassals, by definition, are cats who hold allegiances to feudal lords, and have sworn oaths to serve them. They do whatever the feudal lord wants. And I do not. Even if Tigerstar the second _was_ a feudal lord, I have not sworn any oaths. Thus, I am not a vassal."

"Whatever."

"I see my brilliant speech was wasted on you (he sighs.). Just when I thought that you were a cut above the rest—"

He was cut off as Hollyleaf aimed a swipe at his face. Sol dodged the blow, and retaliated by attempting to cuff her ear. _Attempting_ is the key word. He missed and stumbled to the floor. Seeing an opportunity, Hollyleaf pounced, pinning him down.

"I win!" she mewed gleefully.

Sol rolled his gold eyes, but he couldn't disguise the trace of amusement that glittered in them.

"Hey, lovebirds!" snarled a gruff voice. "Get over here."

Hollyleaf let Sol up before looking around for the speaker. Her fur was burning with embarrassment, and she wanted to shred whoever had called them…or maybe she should let Sol deal with them. Or maybe not. Poor cats—their fate was in Hollyleaf's paws. If they had an option, they would take the lesser of the two evils and let Hollyleaf flay them.

"Hollyleaf, this way." Sol pointed his tufted tail towards a small group of cats. Bridget was among them, and so was Tigerheart. The two former loners padded their way, their fur brushing as they stood next to each other.

"What is it, Tigerstar the second?" mewed Sol with a dip of his magnificent head. His voice was layered with honey, so sweet that even Hollyleaf could taste it.

"You have been summoned to IvyClan." Mewed Tigerheart, looking a little dizzy. "Ivypool—err, Ivystar—is in need of your services."

"Okay then, Sol and I will just get the kits and—"

"Wait a minute, Hollyleaf. I did not tell you to go."

"But—!"

"Hollyleaf, let me handle this…" murmured Sol in Hollyleaf's ear. In a louder voice, he continued. "Tigerstar the second, are you certain that it would be a good idea to leave Hollyleaf within the camp boundaries?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well," mewed Sol, and Hollyleaf blinked. His voice was essentially…gold. Metamorphicly speaking, of course, but the power that was pouring out of his mouth would be enough to turn Firestar into a homicidal maniac! "Seeing that she has been newly reunited with her brother, and that her brother is the former medicine cat of ThunderClan, and that ThunderClan was known for their nobility…I just don't think that it would be a good idea to leave her _or_ her kits laying about the camp, hmm?"

"I…uh…"

"Excellent. Thank you, Tigerstar the second. We shall collect the kits, and be on our way."

Sol and Hollyleaf padded back to the clearing, leaving Tigerheart (also known as Tigerstar the second) standing with a blank look on his dark face.

"You were wonderful!" gushed Hollyleaf. "I thought that we would be stuck in the camp for good!"

"I know." Said Sol somewhat smugly. "You would be in quite a mess had I not existed. Now…" he added quickly, seeing the emerald glint in Hollyleaf's eyes. "Where are the kits? And speaking of which, why do we keep calling them kits, anyway? If they lived in the Clans, they would have had their warrior ceremony a few days ago."

"They'll always be kits from my point of view. And I think they're with Jayfeather, in the prisoner's den."

She was right. Settled in a semi-circle around Jayfeather were four young cats. Their eyes were wide as rainbows as they listened in earnest to Jayfeather. From what Hollyleaf heard, her brother was telling them of some adventure or another that he and his siblings had when they were apprentices.

"And then—oh, hello Hollyleaf." Mewed Jayfeather, seeming to have noticed Hollyleaf's presence. Sol coughed. "And hello, Sol." Added Jayfeather a tad reluctantly. Hollyleaf could see that he didn't really approve of her decision to become mates with Sol. "Hollyleaf!" mewed the dark tortoiseshell shecat who sprang up to greet the two new arrivals. "Did you really take out a den of foxes with Lionblaze and Jayfeather?"

"Well, Vixen, I suppose—"

"And were you really only kits?" said a black tom with dark blue eyes and silky fur.

"Yeah, we were just kits at the time," said Hollyleaf, looking down at her son, Shyamal. Shyamal kept a very innocent aura about him, but Hollyleaf knew that the shock on his face was all just an act. She knew that inwardly, Shyamal wished that _he_ had been the one to upset a whole den of foxes. He had always been surreptitiously mischievous, ever since he was a kit.

"Cool…" mewed the third, a fluffy grey tom who looked an awful lot like Jayfeather, only he wasn't blind and he had gold eyes. He was named with Jayfeather in mind as well—Bluejay was quite similar.

The fourth cat did not say anything, but only looked at Hollyleaf quizzically with bright gold eyes. Rozabella had always been the quiet one, the one who would step back from the scene and observe. In a way, she was most like Sol. The resemblance wasn't only her tufted ears and tail, but in her character, too. She had powers, powers that Hollyleaf knew that Sol could use to manipulate. Sometimes, when Rozabella and her siblings were kits, Hollyleaf noticed her unconsciously using these powers (_mesmerizing,_ Sol called it) on her siblings to get the biggest piece of freshkill or whatnot. Nowadays, Rozabella was a little subtler in _mesmerizing_, but occasionally Hollyleaf could detect a hint of gold in her lovely voice.

"Well, the story was just about to end, so you four had better get off to doing whatever non-prisoners are supposed to do in this place…" grumbled Jayfeather, as Hollyleaf shot him a look. He would not be able to see her, but he should be able to sense her irritation at him for blowing up kit-hood events like this in order to impress his nieces and nephews.

"Come along," mewed Sol a little sharply as the four cats hesitated. "We've been summoned to IvyClan. We mustn't be late."

The cats brightened up.

"You mean the IvyClan that used to be ThunderClan?" mewed Vixen, her green eyes wide.

Sol nodded. "Now come on, you weren't supposed to come originally and it took a lot of trouble to get Tigerstar the second's permission."

In a rush of fur and a flurry of rapid paw steps, the prisoner's den was suddenly empty. Well, nearly empty. Jayfeather was still there, and Hollyleaf was at the entrance, poised to leave.

"Well, good luck." Mewed Jayfeather. He let out a short bark of cynical laughter. "Have a good time in the ruins of our old home."

"And you." Replied Hollyleaf, ignoring the burning feeling in her heart as she stepped out of the bramble thicket.

After a long and rather noisy walk, courtesy of Vixen, Shyamal, and Bluejay, the small party of cats made their way to the hollow.

It was an odd feeling indeed as Hollyleaf stepped through the bracken tunnel and into the all too familiar clearing. It hadn't changed much from when she had left—only the elder's den seemed a little smaller than she remembered. The red stone felt the same as when she had last walked upon it, but the feeling of unwelcome was new to her. Cats were in the clearing, most of them of the mirrar'th caste. The mirrar'th caste was a fancy name for the rogues that she and Sol had brought with them in order to help in the takeover. They were essentially an army, protecting the law. Tigerheart's plan was to eventually merge them with the rest of the Clan cats, thus eliminating the divide that naturally occurred.

But they weren't the only cats in the camp. Hollyleaf saw a few former WindClanners, some RiverClanners, and the occasional ShadowClanner. But what stood out the most were her old Clanmates.

She kept her eyes facing forwards, but she couldn't help but glance over every so often. She saw Daisy's pink nose poking out from the nursery, her gold eyes wide as she watched the small procession. As Hollyleaf caught her gaze, the aging cream cat darted back into the brambles. Brakenfur and Sorreltail were sharing tongues at the edge of the clearing when they caught sight of Hollyleaf. Sorreltail stopped in mid stroke, her eyes rounder than berries. But Brakenfur merely narrowed his pair, and whispered something in his mate's ear. Then they both turned away, refusing to meet Hollyleaf's eyes.

"Not too welcoming, eh?" mewed Sol quietly as he glared at Sorreltail and Brackenfur. "Just ignore them, they'll soon learn that it's not wise to rile the tempers of the ruling caste."

"The air feels…_cold…._" Commented Rozabella. Her fluffy ginger fur was spiking all along her spine. "I don't_ like_ it…"

"Don't worry, they should warm up to us. Eventually. I hope." Said Shyamal, looking around the clearing a tad nervously. "Oh look, is that Ivystar? She doesn't seem too glad to see us. And neither do that patrol of mirrar'th, either…"

Hollyleaf had to agree with Shyamal. The slim silver and white shecat standing on the high rock did not seem pleased to see them, nor did her group of bodyguards. This wasn't going to work well…

"Sol!" she screeched, her fluffy tail bristling. "What is the meaning of this? Come up here immediately!"

"I'll be right back." Sighed Sol, rolling his eyes. "The lot of you may as well explore the camp now, incase I'm not able to _persuade_ her to let you stay."

And he bounded away without waiting for a reply. Typical Sol. Well, he was right. Sol's ability to _mesmerize_ drained a lot of energy, especially after he blew all the strength he had on persuading Tigerheart. He probably should have eaten something before he left. But what was done was done. There was no use on dwelling on stuff like this.

"Where do you four want to go first?" she asked.

"What about…the nursery?" said Vixen, her green eyes brightening. "Then we could go and see the apprentice's den, then the warrior's den, and everywhere else!"

"Alright then…" she said, but wasn't as enthusiastic as the others. She had seen Daisy's face, and was in no hurry to see her again. "This way."

All five of them made their way to the nest of brambles. Shyamal and Rozabella were at the head, while Vixen and Bluejay lagged behind, seeming a little wary of approaching.

"Wait, let me go first." Mewed Hollyleaf as they began to nose their way through the brambles. She brushed them aside and padded into the den, her eyes partly closed, her mind full of memories. She held fond memories of the warm bramble thicket—her entire kithood had been within this den, and she could remember coming to the nursery to give prey to the queens or just to stop and talk.

"H-hollyleaf…?"

Hollyleaf opened her emerald eyes, meeting the pair of stunned ones that flashed sapphire in the shadows.

"Cinderheart?" whispered Hollyleaf incredulously, padding a step towards the cat who had been her best friend while she lived in the Clans. As her eyes adjusted to the partial gloom of the den, she felt someone brush past her, almost knocking the ebony shecat over. Hollyleaf glanced behind her in time to see Shyamal knocked over by a cream-furred someone.

"Watch it!" he hissed.

"Are they your kits?" Cinderheart mewed, looking curiously at the five of them. Hollyleaf nodded proudly, and then noticed that there was a small, squirming heap of multi-colored fur at her friend's belly.

"And are these yours?" she mewed, unable to keep the adoration out of her voice. "Who's their father?"

"J—er, Lionblaze. We got together a few seasons after you died—I mean vanished. I'm assuming their father is Sol?" Hollyleaf blinked, hearing her tone of voice. It _felt_ similar to when she thought that Jayfeather was hiding something. But she brushed the thought away as Shyamal glided past her.

"They're so cute!" he gushed, his blue eyes wide. "I guess their eyes will open in the next few suns, right? Wow, I can't wait. What are their names? Oh, and yeah, our dad is Sol. And my name's Shyamal."

Cinderheart grinned as she replied. "I suppose so, Shyamal. The white and grey tabby shecat's name is Frostkit, the pale ginger tom is Tansykit, Juniperkit is the grey tabby shecat, and Hollykit is the darker grey shecat. We thought that you were dead, so we named her after you…"

Hollyleaf really didn't know what to say. She really felt rather honored by her friend's and her brother's decision, but how to express it? Fortunately (and unfortunately at the same time) a loud yowl came from outside of the nursery.

"All cats of IvyClan are to report to the clearing for a Clan meeting!" rang Ivystar's shrill voice. Hollyleaf rolled her eyes. She had never gotten to know Ivystar when she was younger, and she was rather glad. Just imaging this incredibly bossy, insecure cat as an apprentice sent shivers down Hollyleaf's spine. She would _never_ have been able to deal with her without mouthing off…

Cinderheart sighed heavily and stood up, casting a reluctant look at her mewling kits.

"All meetings are mandatory for everyone. Even the queens. Well…not _everyone._ The ruling caste has an option of coming or not. We'd better hurry. Brackenfur's in the medicine cat's den with a slashed shoulder because he wasn't out there in time."

"I'll come with you." Mewed Hollyleaf, and they padded out again. The clearing was rather…bare. She noticed that everyone was huddled about the edges, looking warily up at Ivystar and her group of rogues.

"I should like to make an announcement," Ivystar said, glaring imperiously down at her former Clanmates. "Seeing that there was some…dissent at the last meeting, I would like to warn you that anyone who objects to the glorious new reign will be severely punished. Brackenfur was lucky-expect bigger injuries."

There was a murmuring through the Clan, and Hollyleaf tried to make herself look smaller as several cats looked her way, as though she had brought this scourge upon them.

"Where's Poppyfrost? And Cherryfrost? And Molestep?" Berrynose was standing, his cream colored fur on end with rage. "Why have you taken my family from me?"

"They are probably in BreezeClan, or maybe TigerClan. If everyone follows the rules for this moon, we may send a patrol to a Gathering. Or not." She replied in a lofty voice. Hollyleaf noticed that at the flick of her fluffy tail, a few rogues streamed down towards Berrynose. Oblivious to the danger, Berrynose let loose a string of curses that would make even the most hardened loner cringe. Hollyleaf's breath caught in her throat. There were three rogues, obviously trained for battle, if the muscles that rippled beneath their pelts were any thing to go by. She has to do something…but if she puts herself on Ivystar's bad side, things could get worse for Sol, her kits…There is a rush of fur, and a blue-grey flash passes her. Hollyleaf's fur stands on end.

"No, Cinderheart! Don't!"

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**Heh heh heh...Cliffhanger, much? xD **


	5. Chapter 5

**Pfffft...I thought that this chapter was a tad boring, but it might clear some stuff up. ^^The next one is almost half way done, too.

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Dovewing laid next to Jayfeather, her head on her paws as she stared gloomily at the thorny brambles that made up the barrier for the prisoner's den. Naturally, she wasn't supposed to be there, but she soon realized that Tigerheart had placed her so high in the hierarchy that only a select few cats could over-rule her commands. A bit unnaturally, she decided to take advantage of this (imagine, sweet, 'I shall so no harm' Dovewing _manipulating _others! Lionblaze would be in shock.). And so, she was in the dark den, listening to the former medicine cat's steady breathing as he slept.

So far, it had not been a good day. Quite an understatement, of course, but even if her mate and a few of his allies hadn't taken over the forest, it still wouldn't have been a satisfactory one. For one thing, she was confined to the 'elite's' camp (Tigerheart instructed the rogues to keep her there) and could not 'get lost' and go back the ThunderClan territory. Aside from Jayfeather, there weren't any other cats who she knew, only rogues. She didn't know what happened to Lionblaze, or any of her other friends, and worst of all, she had the biggest argument with Tigerheart. Well…technically, it was the first argument between the two, so she really couldn't compare it to others to see if it really was 'the big one', but still.

Tigerheart had been showing her around the camp, which was a distance away from the former ShadowClan camp. It was organized so that the cats who were in the lowest ranks had the dens closest to the entrance, and the cats of a higher rank resided in the denser bramble thickets towards the back of the camp. There was also a prisoner's den, and a hollowed out tree trunk that served as her den. Imagine, she had an entire den to herself! She almost started to choke up with happiness until she remembered what else had happened.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Tigerheart had said, his amber eyes focused on something in the distance. "We can achieve so much now…anything that we could dream of!"

"It took so much bloodshed to get here."

"But it was necessary. I know you don't like to see blood spilt needlessly, but it had to be done. They wouldn't have gone ahead and said 'oh sure, go ahead and remodel the Clans, no problem.' No! They would have stuck to their traditions and driven us out! And this way we don't have to remain a secret any longer."

"But still…things were fine the way they were! You didn't need to meddle—"

"It's not called _meddling_, Dovewing, it's called change. Something the Clans aren't—weren't-–- accustomed to."

Dovewing had glanced over to him, and was alarmed at the fire that burned in the depths of his eyes. He truly believed in what he was saying, and would do anything to uphold this. She had felt a shiver run across her back; this was a side of him she had hardly seen before.

"…This wasn't all of your idea…" she said slowly, remembering her entrance into the camp.

"Of course not. Ivystar and Breezestar helped too."

"No, what I mean is that none of you made this up. Tigerstar did. I _saw_ him when you brought me into the camp. And you've just become his pawn in all of this—you're just being controlled by him!"

"I am _not_ being controlled by him! I have my own mind, thank you very much. I know exactly what I am doing, and what I plan to do. If he suggests something that I don't like, I won't do it. It's that easy, Dovewing."

"So you admit that he walked in your dreams? And that you listened to him?"

"Yes, but what does it matt—"

"Tigerheart, you _know_ what he did! He brought so much destruction and death to the Clans, all so that he could gain power!"

"He did not do all of that to just gain power!" Tigerheart had snarled. Actually snarled! At her. She had flinched away, hurt by his actions and scared by the anger that was practically radiating off of him. "He admitted that some of his actions could be considered a little extreme, but he really wanted to make a difference in the life of the common Clan cat! He really had a plan that would keep the best elements of the Code and that would get rid of the rest. It was really for everyone's benefit. And that's the part that no one ever understands, that's the part that's left out of all the nursery tales."

"That's because that part is a lie." She began to continue, taking advantage of his stunned silence. "And the part that he won't show you is all of the suffering that _our_ fellow Clanmates will have to endure because of his schemes! He'll hide it from you and the other two…Tigerheart, how could you do this? What about our kits? Do we want them to grow up like this?"

Dovewing would have relished the way his eyes had lit up, but she had been absolutely furious. His entire self seemed to soften as all of the anger drained out of him as he realized what she meant. "You're-–you're expecting our kits?"

"Yes, but it's not as if you deserve them! I haven't ever thought twice about being your mate, _Tiger_heart, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake!"

She hated the way her sentence had ended in a choked squeak instead of the angry tone she had been looking for, but at least her words seem to have an effect. She had then started to run from him, towards the back of the camp and behind the dens. Dovewing had heard his paw steps and his calls, but she ignored him.

And here she was, in the prisoner's den next to Jayfeather. Bored of reliving her argument with Tigerheart, she rolled over onto her side and casted her senses outwards, deciding that she should see (and hear and smell) if her friends were alright. A part of her was reluctant to do so, fearing that she would find them dead or hurt, but she had to know. The ShadowClan camp—it was the TigerClan camp, she needed to remember that-was eerily silent, even though she could see some cats sulking around the edges of the camp. She could hear the soft murmurs of voices, all of them too soft for her to hear properly. A patrol comprised of mainly rogues was heading towards the lake. Tigerheart was leading it. Dovewing focused on something else. There wasn't much activity by the IvyClan border, although when she tried to get closer to the camp, things became harder and harder to sense. She could hear some noise, and saw a few flashes of fur, but nothing else… It was disconcerting, even though she had expected this. She had never tried to see things from this far away.

_"Hello there, Far-senses." _

Dovewing jumped, almost standing up. What was that? She looked around—no one was there. The voice sounded as if it had come from her head, but how could this be? Was she going insane? Was it just her imagination? Or was—

_"I imagine that you are beginning to panic right about now. I assure you that you have not lost your mind. Oh, and just think your response, I can't hear as far as you can."_

_Who, who are you? _

_"I am known as Rozabella, daughter of Sol and Hollyleaf, kin of Jayfeather and Lionblaze. You obviously have already met me." _

Dovewing could have groaned out loud. Of course the voice in her mind is one of Sol's kits. Go figure. Then, something horrible occurred to her.

_Can you read my thoughts?_

_"Hah hah, I wish. I can only 'speak' to someone in their mind so as long as they are in the area. Since you can hear and see things from far away, I assume that it counts as being here. And I can hear someone if they direct their thoughts to me, like you're doing now. It's quite useful."_

_Is that all…?_

_"Well…I _can_ mimic someone's voice so that they think they're thinking a certain thought, but that's trivial." _

_Trivial, hm…well, what's going on in the camp? I can't see that far…it bothers me. _

_"Let's see…so, Ivystar has called a meeting, and one of the cats aren't too happy about it…ooh, that's not good; she's set some of her rogues on him…"_

_Who are you talking about? What does he look like?_

_"He's a cream cat without a tail…oh great, my mother's friend, I think her name's Ciderhurt or something—"_

_It's Cinderheart, but now what?_

_"Well, she's just run up there and looks like she's about to challenge those rogues…"_

_I can hear the yowling, but I can't make out what they're saying…_

_"Ivystar just…oh no, she's leapt down there too! She pinned Cinderheart down, and the rogues…ouch. I hope that Berrynose—oh foxdung!"_

_Rozabella? _She thought tensely after a while. _Are you still there—I mean here? _

There wasn't a response. Dovewing waited for a moment with baited breath. And another…and another…until she was certain that Rozabella wasn't going to say something. What had happened? Was this her idea of a twisted joke? She heard a shriek of pain, and felt as if she was going to go insane. Where did she go? And why did she go? Did she jump into the fight or did she somehow get one of the rogues to attack her? Or is she on Ivystar's side and is attacking Berrynose or Cinderheart? There were too many possibilities to consider. She glances at Jayfeather again. He was still sleeping, a frown on his grey furred face. Dovewing briefly wondered what he was dreaming of.

_"Okay, I'm a bit busy now so yes…I'll see you sometime soon, I hope."_

_No, wait! What's happening! Did anyone get hurt? _

_"Uh, Berrynose has a huge slash in his side and Hollyleaf's a bit clawed up as well, and yeah. I have better things to do than talk to you, so I'm not going to respond to anymore of your questions. Bye." _

_But…_

Dovewing sighed, and placed her head on her paws once more, and forced herself to listen to Jayfeather's breathing and nothing else.


	6. Chapter 6

** ...wow. School really got in the way of updating. Also, I'd like to mention that this new 'parental control' thing my dad installed on my computer has blocked all of the reviews on every story. ._. If you have a question, I guess you'll have to pm me, as I can't see them now.

* * *

**

He could see, so obviously he was dreaming. And what he saw reassured him. Jayfeather appeared to be at the moon pool, at night, with the waning moon high overhead. The light that emitted from the orbiting body cast more light than usual, creating a brilliant glow on the stones and the waterfall. But with every light came it's shadow. And here there were plenty. The entire setting felt more hostile than it had ever been. The very air had this malicious taste to it, not unlike an area surrounding a sulfuric cave. Suppressing a shudder, he walked towards the pool, taking hesitant, delicate steps, as though the very ground would quake beneath his paws. Out of habit he knelt down and lapped some of the sparkling water.

_Oh wait…I'm dreaming, so I don't have to…_ he thought, feeling very much the fool. _So I guess I'll just have to wait for someone to greet me._

He settled down near the edge of the water, crouching like a medicine cat should. His gaze wandered across the numerous crevices and cracks in the stone, and finally to the water. It looked so tempting…but he wasn't a kit any longer. Honestly… He began to entertain himself for a while by splashing his paw to create ripples. It was just as fun as he remembered from his kit-hood, and was even better now that he could see the splashes. Soon, he grew bored of this and looked around him. No one was there. A second passed. A half-minute crawled by. An ice blue eye twitched.

"Forget this," he muttered, standing up. "If they won't find me, I'll find them."

But where could they be? Apparently he was at the moonpool, and if he was at the moonpool he was near both the ThunderClan and WindClan border. This had never happened to him before. He had always woken up in StarClan's territory, where he could easily find scores of cats who had information that he needed. So which way?

On a whim he began to pad towards ThunderClan. If this was some sort of a strange dream then perhaps he could visit Cinderheart in the camp. That is if anyone inhabited this alternate world. He climbed the path that led to the camp, and was troubled by the silence. Normally, there would be some form of birds or other prey animals making some sort of noise, but tonight, there was nothing. It was disturbing and vaguely interesting at the same time. But as he crept further and further into ThunderClan territory, the moonlight grew brighter and brighter, stretching the shadows to unearthly sizes. Then, if that wasn't unnerving enough, something glinted in the corner of his vision. Jayfeather spun around, glaring at whoever (or whatever) was there.

"Who's there?" he said, and then thought, _What a classic line._

"Just us," came the response, and -–to his relief–-the sleek forms of Spottedleaf and Bluestar slid out of the shadows and into the bright light.

"I was looking for you!" said Jayfeather, a smile appearing on his face in spite of himself. "I have so many things that I need to ask."

The two shecats exchanged a look.

"Uh…Jayfeather? We sort of have something to tell you…" began Bluestar, her diamond eyes focused on her paws. A chill of foreboding ran up Jayfeather's spine. He didn't know Bluestar as well as others, but he knew her well enough to know that she rarely hesitated and was often quite frank. "You see…oh forget it! I _can't _tell him! After all this time…"

"I can…" mewed Spottedleaf.

"Tell me…tell me what?"

"Jayfeather," meowed Spottedleaf, padding closer and laying her fluffy tail on his flank, which he promptly shrugged away. "It's about the prophecy."

A moment of silence succeeded her statement. She turned her head away regretfully as Jayfeather's eyes widened. Bluestar cringed, as though she expected him to lash out. Jayfeather could hear the strain in her voice, and anything that would make Bluestar upset isn't something that he would wish to encounter…

"The prophesy…about the prey-shortage?" he mewed incredulously, looking at Bluestar. "You couldn't tell me something about an ordeal that even _you _have faced?"

Spottedleaf sighed, her amber eyes full of pity. "No Jayfeather, it's about _the_ prophecy."

Another chill ran up and down his spine. This time it was full of fear. Anything related to _the_ prophecy wasn't good news. And if Bluestar herself couldn't say it…

"What about it?" he said, with a cocky tilt to his head, feigning nonchalance. "That there's another third and now it should be known as 'The Prophecy of the Four'? Or that Dovewing really isn't the final third and its actually connected to another prophecy, making Sol the third? Come on, that's what it is, right?"

Seeing that he failed to trigger the smallest twitch of their lips made Jayfeather worry even more.

"Not exactly…you see, we were wrong."

"You mean that the prophecy is a lie…?"

"No," said Bluestar, her voice cracking. "It's anything but a lie."

"Then what—"

"We misinterpreted. Kind of."

_Okay then…_he thought, puzzled. "What exactly did you misinterpret?"

"There's another set of three. You're not the only ones."

"_What?"_

"And it was really a race to see who could get to the Power of the Stars first."

Jayfeather felt as though his world had been turned upside down and inside out. _Another_ set of three? Did Spottedleaf mean that there was another Dovewing and another Lionblaze and another Jayfeather running about? Or were other members of Firestar's family the three? Or was this just an insane dream that had nothing to do with anything? He hoped dearly that it was the latter.

"So…have Lionblaze, Dovewing and I lost this race?" he asked.

"Almost. There's still time."

"'Kay then…who is the other set?"

Again they exchanged glances.

"Would you two stop doing that?" spat Jayfeather, his patience running out. "Just tell me already! Or are you two cowards?"

"I am anything _but_ a coward!" snarled Bluestar, striding up to Jayfeather and looking him straight in the face. "I've faced more than you will ever live to see!"

"That is if I somehow became sighted," mutters Jayfeather, taking a step forwards instead of looking down, as was the normal way to settle these types of disputes. "And I somehow found that I could see in my life, then I wouldn't have to rely on you for everything!"

Bluestar hisses, her hackles rising. Jayfeather unsheathes his claws, preparing for a fight.

"Stop! The two of you, stop this!" cries Spottedleaf, coming between the two bristling cats. "We can't succumb to this petty quarreling! This situation is dire!"

Bluestar blinks, and takes a few steps back. She looks a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry…" she says in a quiet voice. "I just…it's that…too much stress, I guess…"

"It's okay." Says Jayfeather, even though he is reluctant to accept her apologies, he can see that he shouldn't have started to egg her on. "But I wish that all of you would cut to the chase and tell me everything instead of bits and pieces."

"I was just about to do that." Says Spottedleaf with a sniff. "I don't really relish keeping secrets. Now, you asked about the other set?" Jayfeather nodded. "Well, there are lots of possibilities."

_Obviously._

"But, Bluestar and I think that we may have the other three. You know all of them. Tigerheart—or Tigerstar the second as he calls himself, Ivystar, and Breezestar."

It made sense…until you added Breezestar to the equation.

"He's your half brother and he's also Ivystar's mate," she adds, as though reading his mind. "And Tigerheart is Dovewing's mate as well. And because Ivystar and Dovewing are kin of Firestar's, then—"

"I get it, I get it." Jayfeather cut in. "I'm not stupid, I know what you're saying. But if being mates with Firestar's kin counts, then how come almost everyone isn't included in this prophecy? And how did the 'original three' end up with powers?"

"We're not too sure, actually. The prophecy might be a sort of residue that 'rubs off' on the others, or it could be the emotional attachment that develops between the pair. And, you also have to remember that Tigerstar-–" She meows, and then opened her mouth as if to say more. But she says nothing, only flicking her white-tipped tail in the air to signify that everyone should remain very quiet…not that it did any good, of course. A certain brown-and-black tabby sauntered out of the shadows just as easily as he would have had they continued talking.

"I see that I have interrupted something," Tigerstar mewed smoothly, glancing between the three startled cats. "Arguing over who should be Jayfeather's mate, are we? Honestly Jayfeather, you should just tell them that they're too old for you. And that Lionblaze's kits are really yours. It would save you quite a bit of trouble, you know. Perhaps later I can give you some tips on how to _not_ attract she-cats like a rogue attracts fleas—I had the same problem when I was your age."

Jayfeather's fur burned with embarrassment, and when he looked at Spottedleaf, he was stunned by the shocked look on her face. _I guess they don't know _everything_ they say they know…_ he mused, having thought that StarClan already knew who really fathered Cinderheart's kits.

"What do you want, Tigerstar?" Spottedleaf snapped as the dark tabby strolled towards them. She seemed a little taken aback as he nodded in Jayfeather's direction.

"I should make it a rule that my hostages are not permitted to converse with StarClanners." He said, weaving himself around Spottedleaf to her obvious discomfort. "Even if they _are_ as—"

"-–Knock it off and leave her alone." said Bluestar. Jayfeather thought that for a moment the old leader had rolled her eyes…but it must have been a trick of the light. Speaking of which, he noticed that the light was steadily growing dimmer…how odd. "And anyway, there isn't anything that can stop Jayfeather."

"Or _is_ there…" his amber eyes flashed an unnatural shade of gold. Jayfeather gasped. Spottedleaf and Bluestar had disappeared in a flash of light. Tigerstar grinned craftily. "You see, I can control every aspect of my domain now. Unlike before."

And before Jayfeather's wide eyes the forest melted, leaving the somewhat familiar shadows of the Place of No Stars, otherwise known as the dark forest. He sighed gustily, trying to mask his surprise.

"So, Tigerstar, what do you want?" he said.

"Your soul."

Jayfeather blinked. His _soul? _He had expected him to reply 'the forest and all that reside with in' or 'for you to join us and rule the forest'. Even 'for you to know that I'm really your father and that we'll rule the forest as father and son' would have been a bit easier to deal with. Why would Tigerstar want his soul? To replace his old (and obviously corroded) one? To what lengths would Tigerstar go to get his soul? Kill Cinderheart? Torture Dovewing? And how was he to give him his soul? It wasn't something that he could rip out of his chest… Tigerstar began to laugh.

"No, you mouse-brain. I don't want your mouse-brained soul. I have one of my own, thanks. What I _really_ want to do is for you to utilize your powers in a way…in a way that would be useful. And yes I know that you have powers. You and that irritable Lionblaze." He added, seeing Jayfeather's face.

"What if I don't _want_ to use my powers for your means?" he countered, fearing the answer. Tigerstar looked at him.

"I thought that you were smart. Tell me, what would _you_ do if someone didn't do something that you wanted."

"Let's see…I would ask again, I might beg, I would—"

"Oh shut up. Your raucously loud voice hurts my ears. You know what I would do. And it doesn't help that you have plenty of friends and family for me to slowly kill off, either."

"What if I didn't care?"

"I know you care. Your kind _always_ cares."

Tigerstar had a point. He would care if someone—almost anyone—were hurt because of him. But he didn't really have to tell him so—but of course it was already too late. He wasn't one of Tigerstar's favorite minions (though with things going the way they were, he could end up being one), but the tabby certainly knew him well enough.

"Alright. What do you want me to do?"

Tigerstar grinned, and leaned towards Jayfeather. "I would like you to spy upon Ivystar's dreams. I know it's not much, but I'll give you other assignments later on."

"So…why do you want me to spy on Ivystar? Why her when there—"

"Are other cats who might cause trouble? No…quite frankly I'm curious about her. Especially on what she thinks about Breezestar, seeing that she has this awful habit of flirting with other cats."

Jayfeather could have died just then.

"You want me to walk in her dreams and thoughts just so you can collect _gossip?"_

"Well, that's a new way of putting it, but I guess so."

"You've got to be kidding me…" mumbled Jayfeather. "What sort of lunacy is this?"

"An interesting lunacy." Tigerstar concluded after a pause. "Quite interesting…now, hurry up."

Since Jayfeather was already dreaming, he didn't really know how to spy on Ivystar. That is, unless she happened to be sleeping as well. Which was probable, but a bit unlikely, seeing that he had fallen asleep in the late afternoon. But he had no sense of time in the dream world, so it might just be nighttime.

"So…" he asked casually, trying to ignore Tigerstar's smug look. "How exactly would I get to Ivystar?"

"Oh dear, the great and wise Jayfeather hasn't a clue as to how to get to the simple leader. What a tragedy. Now, if you don't want Hollyleaf to accidentally fall into the lake and drown, you have to tell me that I'm the bravest, noblest leader in the history of the Clans. Then I'll tell you where she is."

"You wouldn't. Sol would never consent to be apart of your schemes."

"Oh yes, I would. Sol isn't a vital part of my plans, anyway. He's just a useful asset. Now…?"

Jayfeather sighed and said through gritted teeth," Tigerstar is the bravest, noblest leader in the history of the Clans. There."

"Just close your eyes and wish for Ivystar."

Jayfeather did so. Nothing happened except for a thud as Tigerstar fell to the ground, laughing. Irritation prickled at Jayfeather's spine. He was getting quite tried of being the object of Tigerstar's amusement. However, there really wasn't much he could do about it, seeing that his entire family could be killed if he refused. _That's it…_ he thought to himself, opening his eyes. _I'll just leave and see if she happens to dream in the Dark Forest. And if I can't find her…well, I'll just have to make sure I can compensate for it. _

He strode off, glad that Tigerstar didn't give him a second glance. Jayfeather decided that he should just wander the Place of No Stars for a while. It seemed a likely place for her to be, considering that she trained here regularly. He didn't know for certain but it seemed plausible. A minute passed as he walked the dark paths, his eyes flitting left to right, searching for a glimpse of her…but it's his keen ears that eventually find something. Sharp whispers were coming from the north.

"…would you quite hassling me? I already gave you my answer—twice, in fact."

It was Ivystar––even when dreaming, her voice was still strident. Or maybe it was only when she was stressed. Crouching, he looked through the dying ferns with narrowed eyes. There was Ivystar, her fur fluffed a bit, but he couldn't see the other cat. Oh wait; there was a set of dark brown tabby paws along the edge of his line of vision. The owner of those paws seemed to be irritated, if his voice was anything to go by.

"Hmph. I still do not believe you."

"And why should you?" she laughed, tossing her head back. "After all I've done, I really cannot expect you to trust me."

"…true." He admits. Jayfeather tries to shift the ferns out of his way without making too much noise. No such luck. He still can't see the mysterious speaker. However, his voice sounds somewhat familiar…a bit like Tigerstar's… "But I still would like a straight answer, lie or not. Anything just as long as you stop dancing around the question."

"Fine." Ivystar sighs dramatically, closing her sapphire eyes. "I really _am_ planning to go off on my own and have everyone be my servants. Oh, and I'll be in control of the _entire_ universe, too! Through telekinesis, you see. It shouldn't be that hard."

"…what? You always seemed so sophisticated during the plotting sessions."

"You never pick up sarcasm."

"Ah, I see. You were joking."

"Obviously. Are you truly that thick?"

The other cat growled menacingly. "You wouldn't dare speak to your former mentor like that…"

"I just did! _Ooh_! Now _what_?"

The cat took a few steps forwards. He was a hefty dark tabby, with a splash of ivory fur on his chest and belly, and had a set of glittering blue eyes. _It's Hawkfrost…_ Jayfeather realized, a feeling of icy apprehension trickling down his spine. He knew all of the nursery tales of this cat, and nothing he had heard was good, especially if he happened to see him spying. Ivystar tilted her head jauntily, smiling in an innocent fashion. For a split second, Jayfeather thought that Hawkfrost was about to pounce on her and rip her apart, but he relented, and allowed a smile to appear on his face as well.

"I certainly hope that being leader of IvyClan hasn't gone to your head," he purred.

"Oh no, it hasn't." she mewed the lie smugly: of course being leader had gone to her head. One only had to look at her to tell. After a second, she added, "But I've been doing a fantastic job, though, haven't I? I'm one of the best, right?"

Jayfeather could see a shadow of her former self in the lean silver-and-white cat. Perhaps it was the near pleading look on her face, or the way she seemed to be looking for approval. With a shudder, he realized how easy it must have been to manipulate her. Just toss her a few compliments and assure her that she's better than her sister and there you go. A new recruit. Why hadn't he seen this earlier? He could have prevented this without even going out of his way.

Hawkfrost pretended to consider her questions for a moment, and then replied loftily, "Well, you haven't been doing _too_ badly, but I could see some improvements."

Her face fell for a moment, but then her eyes burned with new resolve. She grinned again. "But this is just the beginning…" she said ominously.

"Why? What is so important about the beginning?" Jayfeather could see that Hawkfrost didn't want her to know that he was curious, but he was failing miserably. The cat's eyes were gleaming, and he leaned forwards a bit, eager to catch her next sentence. Ivystar sniffed condescendingly, her pink nose tilted ever so slightly skywards. She relishes knowing something that her mentor does not.

"Idiot. The beginning hardly matters. No, it's the end that's important. The _end_ is where things will _happen._"

"What _things?"_ he replied. "Tell me. I know you haven't told anyone, and it's killing you not to boast about it. I swear I won't tell."

"Let's just say that three leaders are too many cats to share the lake-side territories…" she murmured softly, her white paw tracing a pattern in the dingy sand. "And let's just say that only _one_ is suitable to rule."

Hawkfrost's eyes were alight with undeniable pride. He beamed at Ivystar, who pretended to hide her mock embarrassment by studying her tail as it restlessly lashed back and forth next to where she was sitting. She only glanced up as he said, "And that only one is you, my apprentice," he hissed, touching his tail-tip to her shoulder. "I will help you attain your goal at any cost. Our names will go down in legend! Now…what will you need to accomplish first?"

"You know, the usual. First I will need to get rid of a few cats. I know that Tigerheart—er, Tiger_star _the second_—_wanted to keep the medicine cats alive, but I'm not so sure if that's the best idea. I know that they know how to heal and all, but honestly, do we _want_ anyone contacting StarClan to get hints and omens? Yeah, Tigerstar _does_ have their territory under his control, but still. It's a bit risky. And do you know what I don't like? Risks. Especially risks like that one."

Jayfeather cringed. This was great. He had enough troubles without some megalomaniac plotting to murder him. _This is ridiculous. What happens when someone gets injured, and no one knows a thing about herbs? I'll bet she'll regret this when she ends up getting an infected wound…_

"Oh, and I know you probably won't like this very much, but it's necessary." Her next words caught Jayfeather's attention. "I can't rule properly with Tigerstar lurking around, telling me what to do. I'm going to have to–-wait, can you smell something?"

Two sets of eyes swiveled in the direction of Jayfeather's hiding place.

_Uh oh…_not_ good…_he thought, as he turned around and slowly backed away from Hawkfrost, who was slowly advancing towards the ferns. Just a moment later, and Hawkfrost had barreled through them, and then caught sight of Jayfeather. His eyes widened, and he leapt, crashing onto the skinny medicine cat. Jayfeather's vision was filled with stars as his head was slammed to the ground. Traditionally, everything went black, but right before it did so, he heard a shrill voice say, "_Wait, he's disappearing! What is this? A StarClan cat?"_ There was a reply, but Jayfeather heard nothing.

"_Jayfeather? Jayfeather?"_

"Mmmpphuh?"

Something was shaking him. Hawkfrost? Ivystar? And who was—

"Jayfeather, what happened? You were thrashing around in your sleep, and now there's this cut on your head and you're _bleeding_ and nothing touched you and what's going on?"

"Ugh…" Jayfeather cracked an eye open. It was dark—so he's not dreaming any longer. He could hear birds singing their morning songs, and he could scent Dovewing. She was standing over him and he could feel the anxiety rolling off of her in waves. He felt stiff, and it was hard to move. Oh, and there was this throbbing pain in his head. That's a bit hard to ignore. "W-wha? Dovewing what—"

"That's what I'm asking you!" she mewed. Jayfeather felt a desire to laugh; when stressed, Dovewing's voice sounded quite like her sister's. "And why are you smiling like that? You're bleeding and stuff…"

"Bleeding?" Jayfeather mustered enough strength to lift his head a little, and raised a paw to his forehead. It was bleeding. He dropped his paw to the ground, and it touched something wet. Correction: he was not only bleeding, but he had bled enough for a small pool to congeal on the hard ground. "Oh...that's new."

Dovewing groaned. "Of course it's new! I haven't heard of anyone else who wakes up bleeding without a reason."

"You'd be surprised…" he propped himself up on his forelegs, blinking a few times. "Oh, and I just visited StarClan."

This caught her attention immediately.

"Well…sort of. I have some stuff to tell you. I don't think you'll like it, but who cares these days?"

He proceeded to tell her Spottedleaf's message, Tigerstar, being forced to be Tigerstar's spy, and all of Ivystar's plans.

"That's…not good." She said, inhaling sharply.

"The understatement of the century…"


	7. Chapter 7

Life in BreezeClan, as Lionblaze discovered, wasn't that horrible. Just as long as he did what was asked of him, didn't ask too many questions, and kept any treasonous thoughts to himself, he was fine. In fact, he had to admit that he sort of liked this new way of living. It was orderly and neat. Everyone had their place, and knew exactly what to do and when to do it. The only thing that he didn't like was the draconian methods of punishing cats for breaking rules; but that was just in the beginning, though.

Everyone had gotten the hang of living in BreezeClan after they had seen what had happened to that apprentice. Poor Larkpaw.

He had also decided that the rogues, or the mirrar'th, weren't as bad as they seemed. He had even become friend with Breezestar's second-in-command, Rook. Lionblaze had found that they were actually rather similar, and beneath the gruff older cat's skeptical exterior, he was actually quite friendly. However, just from looking around the clearing, he could tell that the rest of the former Clan cats weren't getting along so well with their new compatriots. Squirrelflight, for instance, was sitting along the edge of the clearing, sharing a finch with Thornclaw. She was glaring venomously at a sleek silver-and-black tabby shecat, who glared back at her, the fur along her neck standing up a little. Lionblaze shook his head slightly, half-heartedly considering going and telling both she-cats to knock it off. Next to him, Rook looked up from the mouse he was nibbling. His tattered ears flicked forwards curiously as he followed Lionblaze's gaze, and snorted slightly as he saw the two cats staring each other down.

"…heh. Wonder what's that all about?" he said.

"I don't know… Probably just Squirrelflight taking her frustration out on someone; she was always a bit high-strung." but in truth, Lionblaze did have an idea. He had heard that particular mirrar'th complaining about a huge wad of mouse-bile being found in her den. And he had also seen Squirrelflight returning from the stream one evening, her paws wet and a sneer on her face.

"Well, it's none 'o my business." Rook stood up, pushed the remainder of his mouse towards Lionblaze, and stretched. He arched his back towards the sky, closing his eyes contentedly while enjoying the sunlight. Lionblaze hungrily dug into the discarded mouse (it was a rule that cats of a lower caste were to eat after those of a higher caste) and only glanced up when Rook tapped him with the tip of his tail.

"Come on; we've got a border patrol to attend to." he mewed. "Only, we need your other friend, Poppyfrost or whatever. She hasn't gone on a patrol yet today, so I thought that we should take her along."

"Alright…I don't know where she is, though."

"You don't seem to know much of anything, these days." Rook replied with a crooked grin. "But I think I saw Breezestar talking to her earlier, so maybe…oh, there she is."

Poppyfrost was padding towards them, her ears almost flat on her head and her white-tipped tail waving anxiously. Lionblaze almost started to go up and greet her, but he saw Rook's almost imperceptible shake of his head and stopped. He began to wonder why he shouldn't go up and greet her, but then he remembered; even though he was of a lower rank than Rook, he was ever so slightly higher than Poppyfrost. Accordingly, it would be improper for him to say anything first. It didn't make much sense to him, but Rook had said that it was just the way things were done. Besides, it wasn't worth getting his ears cuffed for something that he could have easily prevented.

After she was roughly a tail-length away from the two cats, she crouched respectfully, mewing, "I was told to report to you and join your border patrol, Rook." Lionblaze couldn't help but notice the way her voice seemed a bit hoarse, or the undercurrents of regret that flowed through her words.

"Exactly." Rook said, all cadences of familiarity gone from his voice. He nodded, and Poppyfrost got back to her paws. "Now, we are to patrol the edges of the former 'RiverClan' border, and we need to search for any loners who may be skulking 'bout the boundaries. Nothing unusual, just a quick sweep of the area."

Without another word, he spun around and walked towards the camp exit, his fluffy tail raised proudly in the air. The former ThunderClanners followed. Poppyfrost was the last to leave, as she took a long glance behind her. Lionblaze caught her looking, and turned in time to see a pair of narrowed aurulent eyes flash once and disappear in the shadows of the leader's den.

**.x.X.x.**

"I don't see anything, nor do I scent anything."

They were slinking through the reeds, trying their best to find another trace of the scent that Rook had found. The sun was beginning to set, and Lionblaze was quite eager to hurry up and find a trail and then go back home—no, to BreezeClan. He wouldn't call anything besides ThunderClan his home. Anyway, he had no time to contemplate things like this. He needed to find some trace of the cat-scent.

"That much, Lionblaze, is painstakingly obvious." Rook snapped, peering around a small boulder. He almost blended in perfectly with the blue-grey stone, had it not been for his white belly and tail-tip. "However, I need you to be somewhat useful…you know what? Let's split up. We'll be able to cover more ground this way."

Without another word, he strutted off towards the river, leaving Poppyfrost and Lionblaze standing alone. Lionblaze glanced over towards Poppyfrost, wondering which direction she was going to take. Apparently, she seemed to have the same thought, as she looked at him expectantly.

"I'll go this way," he mewed after a moment, flicking his tail in the direction of the reeds. "I guess you could follow me, if you want, but I don't think that Rook would like it."

"I can find my own way, thanks." Sniffed Poppyfrost.

"I was just asking…" really, she didn't have to be so irritable all the time. Lionblaze began to make his way through the tall reeds, and was surprised to find that the scent Rook had picked up grew stronger and stronger the further he went. It was eerily familiar, too: the cat it belonged to might have been a former Clancat. He crouched, leaning forwards as he suddenly heard a small rustling noise that emitted from the willowy reeds. His breath caught in his throat as something glints–

–and then he's falling forwards as a weight knocks him over, pinning him down in the dust. His muzzle is crushed in the dirt, and whoever has him pinned knows exactly what they're doing, as his shoulder is wrenched in a way he had never thought that it could be wrenched, and he cannot move an inch...

"Who are you?" the cat hisses into his ear, making the inner fur blow back and tickle him. "Answer me, who are you? Are you with the Three, or with the rebels?"

"Mmaaarrrgh...?"

The pressure on his shoulders releases somewhat; he lifts his head above the ground and spits out some dirt. "What? What rebels? What 'three'?"

"Fool!" the voice hisses, and the pressure returns. "Which one!"

He flicks his gold ears back in answer: he does not know. There is a pause, and the cat hisses slowly. "...you idiot, you really don't know, do you?" They leap nimbly off him. With a groan, he curls up in a ball. Everything hurts now...his wrenched shoulder is the least of his worries. What did that cat _do_ to him? And who is it? He cracks an amber eye open, and the other flashes open in shock.

"Petalfur?"

The grey and white shecat nods grimly, sitting back on her abnormally thin haunches. She allows him to stare at her in shock, a small, sarcastic smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Lionblaze is...stunned, simply. He hadn't seen her in a few moons, and the changes are dramatic. There are half-healed gashes all along her flank that almost hide the ribs that are painstakingly evident. Her once round face is now hollowed out, skeletal. But a fire of grim determination flashes in her brown eyes that frighten Lionblaze even more.

"What happened to you?" he eventually croaks.

"Long story; Breezepelt–I refuse to call him by his 'leader' name–and his band of rogues did this," she mewed, flicking her tail at herself. "They came, and well, to put it frankly, destroyed RiverClan. We had just suffered a huge bought of whitecough, and–"

"But Mistystar didn't say anything about whitecough at the gath–"

"She didn't? Oh, well, I wasn't there. I'm glad that she didn't, though; it would have made us look really weak. Anyway, they came in while most of our healthiest cats were at the gathering. It was...despicable, what they did." her face twists in rage as she speaks; her voice cracking and crumbling like a dry riverbank. "...They tried to kill everyone, and we could hardly fight back! It was a small patrol of cats; with Breezepelt of course, but even then...I mean, Breezepelt looked like he'd _left_ a fight! But you have to remember that a lot of us were still sick...but we all tried our hardest. Most of our Clan, died, including Poolkit…"

"Oh...I'm..."

"Don't be sorry." she mews briskly. "So, I've been babbling, and now you understand why I'm like this."

"But," he gasps involuntarily as he lifts himself up into a proper sitting position. "What was that earlier, with the rebels and the tree or whatever–"

"The Three. Get it right." She snaps. "Haven't you heard about this? Nothing at all?"

He shakes his head, bewildered.

She rolls her eyes in irritation. "Oh come on…surely you know something?"

"N-no, I haven't heard anything about this!" he mewed. "But…why don't you join BreezeClan? I mean, it was pretty rough at first, but things have smoothed out and it's not too bad. It's better than living on the edges of the river, anyway."

"Join them?" she spat, standing up with her grey and white hackles raised. Lionblaze, a little wary (his shoulders still ached horribly…) shuffled backwards on his hindquarters. "Join them? Never! How could you even think…they murdered my kit, Lionblaze!"

"I'm sorry! Petalfur, I'm sorry, I just–"

"Forgot? You would…look," she continued, looking a little uncomfortable at the way Lionblaze's face fell. "Talk to Squirrelflight, back at your camp. She should tell you something, seeing that…well, good day."

She stood up, and vanished within the reeds, leaving Lionblaze's mind reeling.

Lionblaze sought out Rook and Poppyfrost, both of whom had not found anything, and he thought that it would be best of him to say the same. They went back to camp while the sun was nearing its summit. Immediately, as though she had heard his thoughts, Squirrelflight approached Lionblaze and asked to speak with him. She led him to the warriors' den. In the gloom of the shabby bramble bush, he caught a glimpse of Thornclaw, Foxleap, Blossomfall, and a few cats he didn't recognize. Oh, wait, in the corner a pair of blue eyes flashed upon his arrival; Crowfeather was there as well.

"What is _he _doing here?" Crowfeather rasped, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as Squirrelflight gestured for Lionblaze to sit besides her in a mossy nest.

To Lionblaze's surprise, Squirrelflight bristled, lashing her tail to one side. "He's your son, if you haven't forgotten." She bit back, glaring at him.

"Lionblaze is not his son," Nightcloud was here too; Lionblaze hadn't seen the small shecat, for she nearly melted into she shadows. Crowfeather didn't seem to like the way she cut into the conversation, but he looked as though he was powerless to say anything.

"Oh, and you're glad that Breezepelt is?" the ginger tabby blinked innocently, pretending to be unaware of the enraged shecat who sat across from her.

"Enough," Thornclaw cut in with his measured voice. "Crowfeather, Nightcloud, _Squirrelflight,_ let's stop this. It shouldn't matter who Lionblaze belongs to–"

"–No, that's not what I meant!" Crowfeather snapped. He looked a little weary, as though misunderstandings like this happened often. "I was just about to say, that I do not think that Lionblaze…well, I don't think that he should be here, given the company he keeps."

"If you're talking about Rook, then there's nothing to worry about." Lionblaze jumped in, before Squirrelflight leapt to his defense again. Speaking of which, it was pretty odd. He had eventually reconciled with her, of course, but they had never been as close as they had once been. "We're just friends, I'm not his spy or something, it's not as though I'm going to, I dunno, whatever you think that I'm going to do."

Thornclaw exchanged a small look with Crowfeather before answering. "We understand that…you've been a loyal ThunderClanner, and you have been friends with cats outside of the Clan without spilling all of our secrets."

"Which is exactly why we decided to tell you about our little…rebellion." Squirrelflight mewed. "Of course, the others didn't agree with me, (she coughed, which strangely sounded like _Nightcloud_) so we set up a bit of a test to see if you knew anything, and how sympathetic to our plight you were. From what Petalfur said, you passed–"

"–but not with flying colors or anything–"

"–Would you stop interrupting, Crowfeather? Anyway, we want you to join us, and eventually overthrow Breezestar and restore the Clans."

"Uh…sure."

"Excellent." Squirrelflight's eyes gleamed in the dimmed den. Thornclaw shifted a little uneasily, and the other cats in the den looked at each other. Crowfeather's eyes narrowed (at Lionblaze's hesitancy, perhaps?) and Nightcloud curled her tail around him possessively. Lionblaze couldn't tell if they were pleased or concerned. "Now, we should tell you about the Three. The Three, from what we understand, are–"

She stopped as a yowl sounded from the clearing. It was Breezestar; he seemed to be calling the Clan to a meeting. Squirrelflight sighed, flicking back her ears in irritation. With a parting glare at Crowfeather, she stood up and sashayed out of the den. The rest of the cats followed, a little wary at the unannounced meeting. Generally, unannounced meetings boded ill for those who ended up being involved.

"All cats of all castes are to report to the main clearing for a Clan meeting!" drawled Breezestar, stretched out on the boulder that served as the leader's den. Lionblaze looked around to see if he could find Rook, or Poppyfrost, but oddly enough, none of them were there. "We are here to witness the ceremonies of those who have proved themselves worthy."

A slight, almost inaudible muttering ran through the crowd. Breezepelt had a habit of promoting (or demoting) certain cats to different castes through ceremonies that were similar to an apprentice/warrior ceremony. This happened almost every other day, and nearly everyone in the Clan had been involved in at least one. Lionblaze, however, hadn't.

"Lionblaze, come forth."

However, Lionblaze seemed to be the 'chosen one' today. Trying to stifle a groan, he padded through the parting crowd and stood in front of the boulder, glaring up at his half-brother. He didn't _want_ his caste or sub-caste to shift, because he had already figured out the complicated etiquette that was required for his caste, and he didn't want to spend another moon accidentally offending cats. Unlike ThunderClan, it was a cardinal sin to insult someone of a different rank, and the punishment could vary, depending on who was offended.

"Lionblaze, you are here today–" called Breezestar, rolling on his back and gazing up at the afternoon sky, and started one of his long and tedious speeches. Lionblaze felt his attention drifting off, off towards Cinderheart…until a loud volley of cheering shook him out of his reveries. Helpless, he looked around for Rook, and was delighted to see the scruffy tom walking towards him with a smug look on his face.

"Congrats," he mewed, swiping playfully at Lionblaze's ear with a paw. Grinning, Lionblaze ducked and aimed a blow of his own which glanced off of Rook's muzzle.

"Er, this is probably going to annoy you," mewed Lioblaze. "But, uhm, what did Breezestar say? I kinda–"

"–Didn't listen? Again?" Rook sighed, shaking his head with disgust. "This is going to be what? The twelvfth time?"

"Actually, it's the fourteenth…"

"If you were smart, you wouldn't remind me." Rook growled. "But anyway, you've been promoted to a mwiirth."

"What? _Mwiirth_? What is–"

"I thought I told you earlier? You know, when I had to explain the entire system to you for the millionth time… oh, tell me, Lionblaze, does _anything_ stick in that thick head of yours? All right then, a mwiirth is a cat of the seventh sub-caste of the mirrar'th caste. You will sleep in the mirrar'th den, have first priority at the fresh-kill pile at sunrise (and _only_ at sunrise), and, well, basically everything's made! A few more promotions, and you'll be a full mirrar'th, one of the elite." Rook beamed at him, and Lionblaze managed to grin feebly back. "Of course," the grey tabby added slyly, casting a glance at the dissipating crowd. "I had to pull a few strings to get you this rank. Nothing big, of course, just had to get the right cats to talk to Breezestar without him knowing that I set it up… and of course I had to rig that assessment you took the other day."

"Ah, um, oh wow, Rook, thanks, I didn't…" Lionblaze trailed off, catching a glimpse of Crowfeather and Thornclaw over Rook's shoulder. The golden-brown tom's eyes were wide with alarm as Crowfeather muttered rapidly in his ear. Squirrelflight padded up to them, her tail lowered like a broken tree branch, and murmured something to Crowfeather. Then, Crowfeather caught Lionblaze looking, and he leered unpleasantly at him. Lionblaze didn't have to have Jayfeather's powers to know that suspicion was oozing out of the smoky cat's every pore.

"Hm…" Rook turned around, saw what Lionblaze was looking at, and shot a nasty look at the two, who narrowed their eyes and slunk off. "Well, Lionblaze, you mustn't get too upset about _them._ They'll be jealous of course, and frankly, you've needed a new set of friends for a while. Come on, I'll go and introduce you to some of your new denmates. You know Jasper, right?"

Lionblaze nodded and let himself be led off towards the elite's side of the den. He could feel something burning on his back, but he knew that it wasn't only the mid-day sun. Casting half a glance behind him, he saw three sets of sapphire, emerald, and amber eyes staring at him with differing mixtures of disgust, concern, and fear.


End file.
